May I have this Dance?
by Silver-Eyed-Rukia
Summary: Before the Inquisitor can attend the ball at the Winter Palace she has to make some preparations: that includes dance lessons. FemQunari x Sera.
1. Chapter 1

**May I have this Dance? (Part I)  
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by

_Silver-Eyed Rukia_

**Rated:** M (Hinted sexual actions)

**Summary:** Before the Inquisitor can attend the ball at the Winter Palace she has to make some preparations: that includes dance lessons

**Pairing:** Adaar (female Qunari Inquisitor) x Sera

**Note:** This isn't beta-ed, so please ignore any mistakes. Or point them out and correct me, whatever you prefer.

* * *

><p>The distant sound of feet climbing up the stone staircase to her personal chambers tore the Qunari out of her deep sleep but didn't fully wake her. Only the sudden stop of the noise made her subconscious uneasy and she awoke, raising her upper body from the mattress just as the knock sounded on the door. She voiced a short "Just a moment" before running a hand over her face, cursing her restless sleep lately.<p>

Adaar stood from her bed, careful not to hit one of the upper posts as she had already done before, much to the amusement of a certain blonde elf one might add. Her thoughts ran amok inside her head, stirred up by the seemingly never ending nightmares she had ever since the incident in Redcliffe. The tall redhead shook her head and reminded herself of the company just outside the door while putting on the usual attire she wore while roaming around Skyhold.

"You may enter", she said and couldn't keep a smile off her features as the ever nicely dressed ambassador entered the room, wearing a smile of her own.

"Good morning Inquisitor, I hope I didn't interrupt any good dreams. The Maker knows you could use the distraction every now and then."

Clipboard in hand and ready to write Josephine stood in between the much taller woman and the entrance, carefully handling the seemingly always lit candle on top of her wooden companion. Adaar closed the distance between them and offered her to go first with a short gesture of her hand, leaving the room and walking through the great hall where the early risers of the hold were already eating breakfast, namely the soldiers and the morning shift of the guard.

"To be quite honest with you", Adaar started while nodding towards some of the soldiers and civilians she passed on their way, "you actually woke me from what I remember to be anything but a good dream." She glanced to her right, noticing the brief look of worry on the ambassador's face before the shorter woman sighed quietly, sitting down at her desk after they had reached the woman's study.

"Then I apologize in advance for having to add even more to your list, Inquisitor. The ball in Empress Celene's palace is going to be in a mere two days and we have yet to...", she trailed off, looking for a word to kindly describe the lack of proper etiquette from a few certain members of their quite colourful fellowship, "introduce some of our dear friends to the Orlesian way of nobility. Mainly dancing and how to properly speak to the noblemen and women that will be present there."

The Qunari ran a hand over her recently trimmed mohawk and nodded in agreement.

"You might want to tell Sera early. And remind her of it. Twice."

Josephine made a noise that sounded like a mixture of humour and desperation before finally noting something down on her clipboard, most likely an annotation to send anyone but herself to bring the oh so happy news to the group's prankster.

"Well, now that that's over and done with how about we discuss your schedule for today over a light breakfast? I have heard that Leliana brought home some rather funny coloured biscuits from Orlais with even more interesting flavours."

* * *

><p>"At first I found my idea to be hilarious, I mean, have you ever seen guards fight without their pants? But then I remembered that they were guys, ugh. Destroyed some of the fun, would've been better if they had been women. Hehe, would've taken their shirts instead of their pants though."<p>

If disgust and hatred would have been able to manifest and burn through solid mass and people then the blonde elf would have already been roasting under the burning glare from Vivienne who was sitting at the very far end of the other table, across the room. Unluckily for her though the great hall was big enough to carry Sera's loud voice all across the room, forcing her to listen to the rather crude story of how the archer and the Inquisitor first met, when she was still known as the "Herald Andraste's."

"Sera, may some of your genious depart from you and bless my shallow mind with such grand ideas", Blackwall replied while trying to hide the smile that was creeping unto his features at the thought of pantless guards fighting the Inquisitor. Iron Bull laughed and slammed his huge fist on the table in amusement, forcing Dorian to lean to the side to dodge the piece of meat that had fallen off the fork at the sudden movement.

"Shocking to hear such language from an elf, the way I had always been told was that elves were creatures of grace and pride", the mage remarked, eyeing Solas at the other end of the table while still adressing the blonde woman across from him, "and not jokesters that embarrass their enemies before killing them."

The conversation had been sparked anew and the people in close proximity of the Iron Bull, Sera and Dorian quickly excused themselves and fled the scene in fear of being caught in the crossfire.

Just a few seats away from the commotion was the commander of the Inquisition's army, its master spy and the ambassador along with their leader, all of them caught up in a rather heated discussing about the upcoming events in Halamshiral. Well, all but one.

Adaar listened with half an ear about how Leliana and Cullen were arguing about who they should support and why while Josephine was trying her best, true to her title, to settle any disagreements between the two in a peaceful manner. Yet she was more interested in watching the rather silly reenactment of their first meeting, having a hard time masking her mirth as Sera even stated how the first thing she had noticed about the Inquisitor was her rather well-built physique.

"I mean, damn. Impressive, innit? Never seen a female Qunari before."

"Oh my dear friend, if it weren't for the fact that you would skin yourself alive if you had to live under the Qun I'd oppenly suggest it if you like our women so much", Iron Bull said with a grin, downing the rest of his alcoholic beverage.

"Ew, why do you like being gross so much. Great, now I ain't hungry no more. Pissballs."

The tall woman at the head of the table shook her head softly before returning her full attention to her advisers, but not before making short eye contact with the elf, raising an eyebrow at the rather obvious hand-gesture from the smaller woman. She mouthed a silent "Later" and Sera only rolled her eyes, leaving the great hall in much quieter company.

"Inquisitor, this mission cannot be done without you, what way of procedure do you think we should approach?", the redheaded spy asked with a barely visible glare towards the blond male to her left. Before Cullen even had time to react they were both saved by one of the higher ranked guards walking up to the commander, informing him of new recruits that had just arrived at the gates.

"Excuse me, miladies, but I have to attend to another matter for now." He gave Leliana a look that clearly stated "This isn't over yet" and bowed shortly before the Qunari, who nodded in response. "I shall speak to you all later."

"I wonder if you three will ever be able to agree on something without me having to force you to", Adaar jokingly added as the former bard scoffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Probably not", Josephine remarked before scribbling something down. "Even though our military force and our source of information are currently divided there is still something we all need to do together." She raised her head to look at both of the women across from her, who just looked at her in mild confusion and sighed. "This is going to be a long day."

* * *

><p>While the Antivian diplomat was off and about trying to organize everything for the Inquisitor's schedule said leader was currently standing on one of the balconies in her chamber, facing the frozen landscape that surrounded Skyhold. Seemingly random scenes from her barely restful sleep kept flashing before her eyes and she gripped the railing with such an intensity that her knuckles turned white. She was in such deep thought that she didn't even hear the door open and close, let alone someone approaching her closely.<p>

A pair of warm hands sneaked under her vest, resting just above and below her navel while the owner peeked her head out beneath the taller woman's arm, giving her a lopsided grin. If it hadn't been for the fact that by now she had gotten used to Sera's anticts, well, more or less, she most likely would have sent the intruder flying through the room if just for the fact that it had startled her like all hell.

"Always so busy Inky, no time to take a break and have some fun around here?"

Adaar eased her fingers off the railing and smiled down at the much smaller blonde.

"Why do I have the feeling that you aren't here to let it stay that way? And Sera, I thought we had discussed that nickname."

"Psht! You're right about both but I ain't gonna cut the nicknames just yet. It makes me laugh when you get that wrinkle between your eyebrows when- there it is!", the elf laughed and started dragging the Qunari towards the bed while slowly unbuttoning the top part of the woman's attire. Sera turned them around and pushed her lover onto the bed, tossing away the top after freeing it from all its buttons. For a second she stopped and just looked at Adaar's in cloth wrapped torso before removing that too, leaning down to kiss her passionately.

An hour that felt like a mere 5 minutes passed and the pair remained lying in bed, the smaller one resting her head on the Qunari's shoulder while drawing random patterns on her muscular stomach.

"I ain't as dense as people would like me to be so spit it out. What's making the usual bastion of calm so unnerved? Can't be the fact that you're getting your ass handled back to you by an elf two heads shorter than you. Hehe, handled. See what I did there?"

A small chuckle escaped the redhead's lips before she raised an eyebrow in false mockery.

"Aren't we being a bit hasty? Have you ever considered the fact that maybe I am just _letting_ you "_handle my ass_" as you so very lovely put it."

The chuckle turned into a quiet laugh as Sera threw a pillow at her head, or at least tried to, and complety missed, sending it falling down the staircase.

"Idiot."

With a quick movement that wouldn't have been expected of a woman her size she pinned the blonde woman down beneath her, eyeing her with a deep, nearly animalistic look of need. Her muscles tensed under the strain of trying to keep calm as yet another flashback from her nightmare plagued her, feeding the terror that had nestled into her thoughts ever since the dreams had started about a week or two ago. Short, controlled breaths ruffled up Sera's bangs as the Inquisitor closed her eyes and leaned closer, softly resting her forehead against that of her lover's.

"Sorry."

After freeing herself of the now limp grip of the warrior Sera only reached up with one of her hands, and in a rare moment of peace she just looked at her and stroke her cheek, like a mother comforting her crying child.

A sudden knock sounded at the door and tore the pair out of their intimate moment, effectively turning Sera back into her usual rather dorky self as she just grabbed what clothes she could find and darted off into a nearby room with a hissed "Oh fuck", leaving the older woman to do pretty much the same, minus the cursing and the running off.

"You may enter", Adaar said and felt oddly familiar with the whole situation as Josephine yet again entered her chamber, this time with a dwarf in tow. The grumpy looking fellow only eyed her for a split second before walking out the door again, only to reappear with a ladder in his hands.

"We gonna need this. Of course Qunari have to be this sodding tall", he grumbled as Josephine only shrugged at the raised eyebrow the Inquisitor was directing at her.

"Don't look at me like that, he is the only one capable of sewing you a fitting attire for the ball, in more than one sense and in such short time too. Our tailors aren't neccessarily used to making clothes for Qunari and this quite skilled man was actually the only one we could find in the whole of Skyhold who had been taught how to sew clothes for people who aren't dwarfs or humans."

Before Adaar could do as much as reply to her friend the dwarf was already measuring her waist, climbing up and down on his ladder quicker than she would have expected.

"Undress. We don't got all day."

The ambassador cleared her throat in apology as the Qunari did as she was told, but not without giving Josephine a look that would have pierced stone if it hadn't been meant as a joke. Mostly. So she did just that. The Inquisitor mentally thanked whatever force was out there that she had been quick enough to put on her cloth-wrapping that she usually wore around her chest after her "_match_" with Sera.

The minutes ticked by and Josephine just sat at the small desk that was in the room, noticing that it was way too small for the Qunari to use. She noted something down on her clipboard and turned her attention back to the odd pair in the middle of the room. It was an interesting sight, to say the least.

"Sodding- could you stop moving so much? It is already difficult enough taking measurements from someone 4 times my height without having to constantly resize everything. Neverminding the fact that I also have to take your physique into consideration. If I make your outfit too tight it might tear if you have to battle in it, if it's too lose the nobles will talk about nothing else than how the Herald Andraste's can't even dress properly. And then it will fall back upon me. Damn nug-humpers."

A barely audible snort sounded from somewhere inside the room and Adaar prayed that neither of her two guests would notice the elf still inside with them. Or part of her clothing peeking out from beneath the bed, barely but still slightly visible. Josephine was distracted with watching the tailor work and said man was too busy ranting off about everything and nothing to notice anything besides his work.

Luckily for her both of them exited the room just about 10 minutes later, but not before Josephine told her to be in the unused hall near the kitchen by nightfall. The door shut behind the brunette and Sera's trademark laugh filled the room mere seconds later.

"Nug-humpers, I have to remember that one", she said in between bouts of laughter and poor attempts at breathing. Her only partly clothed form emerged from the room inside the Qunari's chamber and immediately went straight for the only other person currently in the room, pulling her into a deep kiss.

"That's for undressing in front of that dirtdigger. I thought I had made it clear that I ain't into sharing."

"If you didn't like it, why punish me with a kiss?"

"To remind you what you will be losing if you do it again" she said and shrugged, grabbing her shirt and putting it back on. "Thank Andraste, I think my tits were about to freeze off. Now that's something you wouldn't want, innit?"

"It's really hard to make sense of you sometimes", Adaar remarked as she watched Sera get dressed, noticing the grin that was evident on the elf's full lips.

"Doesn't matter as long as you love me. And that you do, if your actions speak as loud as your words. Hehe, naughty Inky."

"Sera!"

Her laughter filled the halls of Skyhold once again as she bolted from the Qunari's room, leaving her partner to just shake her head with a smile at the adorableness that was her girlfriend.

* * *

><p>Well, first of all: I am not dead. I just haven't had time andor motivation to write anything down for a while. It's certainly not the lack of ideas, you can believe that.

**Side note:** This is only the first part of the two-shot. Not yet planned when that will be up but I hope soon :)

Secondly: I have recently finished playing Bioware's new Masterpiece that is Dragon Age Inquisition and I abolutely fell in love with Sera. Playing as a female Qunari just made it a little bit easier to make her like me ;) So yeah. First time writing anything for a video game so please go easy on me. I was also not able to play the game in English since the voice package is not available for me for some reason so I just pieced their language together from what I know from the German version.

I hope that I kept everyone as in character as I could. My Adaar is a very calm person that only ever gets emotional when something she truly cares for is involved, like her lover Sera or her friends from the Inquisition. She is a warrior, 2-handed so that's why she is muscular, just as a random bit of information.

**Phrase of the Day**

_Caught up in the middle of a headache and a heartbreak, just when I thought I was clear of the mistakes, no, no oh oh oh._

"Working man" by Imagine Dragons_  
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	2. Chapter 2

**May I have this Dance? (Part II)  
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by

_Silver-Eyed Rukia_

**Rated:** T

**Summary:** Before the Inquisitor can attend the ball at the Winter Palace she has to make some preparations: that includes dance lessons.

**Pairing:** Adaar (female Qunari Inquisitor) x Sera

**Note:** This isn't beta-ed, so please ignore any mistakes. Or point them out and correct me, whatever you prefer.

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><p>The tall redhead awkwardly made her way down towards the small hall, picking at her silky soft and very expensive wardrobe. Compared to the chainmail and rough clothing she usually wore her outfit for the Winter Palace felt like a thousand feathers covering her skin. She sighed and opted for a slightly longer route through the lower yard, trying to get some fresh air before throwing herself at the mercy of the ambassador.<p>

The sparring ring was empty and only a few swords lying about were proof of the daily trainings held inside its boundaries. The orange glow from the tavern illuminated the upper yard and the music and laughter from inside filled the chilly evening air. Adaar stopped for a moment to look at the small room visible from her position, watching the blonde elf as she tried to put her foot behind her head in a very painful looking position. '_I couldn't do that even if I tried, having horns and all that._' The Qunari paused before shaking her head and taking off towards the kitchen, smiling along the way. '_I think a certain elf is rubbing off on me. I didn't even wonder what the hell she's doing up there._'

The smell of hay entered her nose as she passed the stables and the Inquisitor stopped once again, walking over towards her trusty steed and brushing through his mane. Strong footsteps carried the smaller man to her side and he silently stood there for a moment, before smiling at the look the Qunari was giving him.

"I must say, it is rather odd to see you in such fancy clothing. I wouldn't have taken you for the kind of person who values looks over character."

"And I think a certain someone has been spending too much time with Sera and Bull and is slowly picking up on their antics", Adaar remarked while turning around to face the Orlesian warrior, crossing her arms over her chest while trying not to ruffle up the fabric too much, "Rainier."

Blackwall huffed under his beard and shook his head. "You have to admit though, "_taking their breeches_" was genious indeed." He turned around and went back inside the barn, giving a short wave before returning to his hobby of shaping wood. The tall woman laughed quietly at the exchange and patted the horse a last time before finally moving on towards where Josephine was most likely already waiting.

She entered the kitchen and inwardly rolled her eyes as she caught one of the apprentices talking about how pies kept disappearing after mealtimes. Taking a mental note to talk to Sera or Cole about the issue she entered the small hall, taking a moment to turn around and admire what the ambassador had managed to make out of the place in such a short time.

The formerly lose pictures now properly decorated the walls alongside banners of the different races and groups like the warden symbol or the emblem of the Free Marches. Several torches had been lit to light the room up and fill it with warmth. Tables and chairs had been moved to look like a perfect recreation of a banquet room, turning the small hall into a much tinier version of the Winter Palace, minus the over the top decorations. And amidst the banners and the tables stood the diplomat, a smile on her lips and a dangerous glint in her eyes.

"Impressive, Lady Montilyet. I wouldn't have expected this dusty room to turn into such a sight", the Qunari said as she walked over towards the smaller woman only to get silenced by a sole finger raised into the air, right in front of her face.

"Now, Inquisitor, this is no way to walk while in the presence of nobility. Smaller steps, less swinging of the arms, back straight." Josephine formed the redheaded woman into a posture fit to be seen and nodded. "Now, walk. Like that."

"You expect me to- has the fact that I am a Vashoth escaped your mind? Taking steps like this is like asking a dwarf to take a step the size twice his own. It looks awkward."

"And that is exactly why we are here tonight, practicing. When it comes to slaying dragons and demons or kicking assassins off Skyhold's walls you are second to none of us, but you are greatly lacking in how you have to act around the people of Orlais, especially the people from Val Royeaux. No offense, but we will participate in the Game, and believe me when I tell you that it can be just as dangerous as a Rage Demon, if maybe a bit more subtle."

Before Adaar had time to react another voice rose from her left and her blue eyes met those of the spymaster, who was also dressed in an attire much like hers.

"Josie is right, Inquisitor. The Game is as deadly as it is a charade between noblemen. It would be foolish to underestimate it."

A sigh escaped her lips and the ambassador cleared her throat, lightly smacking the taller woman's shoulder. "Back straight!"

Time seemed to drag on forever as both the spymaster and the diplomat taught the Inquisitor all that she needed to know for the ball at the Winter Palace. The lessons included how to adress people correctly with their names and titles, how to bow in respect or greeting varying on the different ranks among the nobility and a thousand more things that Adaar couldn't possibly all remember in one night. She silently cursed as Josephine scolded her again for picking up the wrong fork when she should have taken the slightly smaller one.

"This is ridiculous, how do you even manage to keep up with all this?"

Leliana, who had been a mostly silent observer ever since her initial greeting, chuckled and rose from her seat a few feet away, eyeing the frustrated warrior with a certain amusement evident on her face.

"You make it up as you go. As long as you know the basics of the Game you only need to adapt to it in given situations. That's the thrill of it, is it not? Not knowing when a polite nod will be seen as an offering of respect or a national offense." The spymaster calmly walked over to the Qunari, posture perfect and face all but unreadable. "It will be even harder for you to get their approval, Inquisitor. The nobility doesn't regard people of your kind very highly."

Josephine nodded and scribbled something down on her clipboard, probably updating the checklist she had prepared for this evening. "True enough, and because of that it is all the more important that you learn to master the basics. I am sure that you will be able to make the most of it once actually entangled in the Game. You are, after all, a quick learner, Inquisitor."

The former bard had a hard time masking her mirth when she spotted the usually calm and collected warrior running a hand over her face in annoyance, cursing as she received another scolding from Josephine upon doing so.

"Now I know why you didn't make Cassandra the Inquisitor. She would probably storm the Winter Palace and knock every enemy in her path out instead of politely asking them about their valued opinions", Adaar sighed and rose from her chair, walking over to Josephine as delicate as possible for someone her size.

"That may be one of the reasons, yes", the Antivan woman chuckled and put her clipboard down on a nearby table, nodding at Leliana who in turn picked up her lute and positioned herself on one end of the hall, awaiting the next command. "Well now, Inquisitor, I personally think we have tortured you long enough but sadly there is still one thing we have to go over."

She extended her hand for the Qunari to take, bowing slightly and retaining her stance perfectly.

"May I have this dance, your Worship?"

The horned woman bowed too, gently placing her own, much taller hand in Josephine's offered one and pulling her closer, resting her remaining hand on her partner's back. It was quickly rearranged and moved much lower, now resting just above the diplomat's behind. Adaar took a deep, calming breath, hoping that no one, especially not Sera, would see them like this. '_If she does I will never hear the end of it._' Her musings were suddenly interrupted as music filled the space around them and Josephine started moving along to its rythm.

If anyone would have asked her if she had done it on her own accord the spymaster would have denied such a thing, but seeing the Herald of Andraste, the survivor of the Fade helplessly stumble around the dancefloor was worth the time she had spent on polishing her somewhat rusty lute-playing skills.

"No no no, not like this", the toned woman sighed and stopped moving, giving her opposite a short breather between tries. "You are too attentive, and it's causing you this trouble. While you watch mine and your movements, trying not to mess up you are doing _exactly_ the one thing you are trying to avoid."

"It's what kept my head attached to my shoulders in battle", Adaar dryly replied and took a sip of her beverage, enjoying the cold water rushing down her throath. "It's not neccessarily something I can just _turn off_."

Leliana continued playing, eyes ever watchful and trained on the pair, but in her head she stood in front of a campfire, her own voice filling her ears as she sung for her love, who in turn did nothing but watch, enjoying the bard's display of emotion through song. Back then she had started to feel drawn towards the Warden and she had laid herself bare in front of the woman she still called her lover. Never had she regretted it and the Inquisition's spymaster allowed herself a nostalgic smile before returning her attention on the here and now.

Both the diplomat and the Vashoth had resumed their positions, making one final attempt at trying to turn the warrior into a somewhat decent dancer before the ball. Josephine lifted her head to look the Qunari in the eyes, captivated by the intense azure surrounded by blazing red that greeted her as Adaar returned the expression.

"Do you trust me, Lady Adaar?"

The question was nothing she had expected but she knew the answer nevertheless.

"That I do, Lady Montilyet."

"Then close your eyes and simply follow my lead. Don't think about what you are doing, just _trust_ me."

The warrior closed her eyes, muscles relaxing as she freed her mind from troubling thoughts and did as she was told. It felt as if her body was following a gentle river's stream as she blindly tracked the diplomat's movements, remembering each twirl, each sidestep, each motion as if she had performed them on her own. Before she knew it they had stopped and Adaar opened her eyes again only to see a bightly smiling Josephine meeting her gaze.

"You did it, Inquisitor!", she excitedly proclaimed and wrapped her arms around the horned woman's neck, involuntarily making said woman bend down to a more human-sized level to return the gesture, if to a less enthusiastic degree.

"Now Josie, you might want to release her before she can't attend the ball due to lack of oxygen", the spy jokingly remarked, eyes gleaming in amusement as the toned woman blushed a light pink, excusing herself and stepping away from the Qunari all the while apologizing profusely.

"Where are my manners", the Antivan noble said with a smile, bowing to properly signalize the end of the dance. "Very well done, your Worship. Truth be told, you are quite good when you really put your mind to it."

An eyebrow rose at the statement and Adaar crossed her arms over her chest.

"This is not going to turn into a habit, Lady Montilyet."

"What a waste of potential."

Laughter followed and filled the small hall as the pair celebrated their success with a well deserved bottle of Antivan wine and some friendly conversation. Leliana left them alone and headed towards her chambers, thoughts returning to a time where she and her Warden would share more than just drinks on cold and dark nights.

* * *

><p>For as tough as the Antivan diplomat could be when it came to nobles she was certainly not a heavy drinker. After her third glass of wine she had started sharing quite interesting tales about the things she and Leliana had done during their time spent together in Orlais, not missing out on any details in the process.<p>

"And she would just look at them and say "What, have you never seen two women loving each other before?" The shocked expressions on their faces, dear Maker! I was so embarrassed but she just acted like it was the most normal thing in the world. Even though it was all but a joke."

Adaar smiled at the ridiculousness of the tale and stood from her seat, offering a hand to the Antivan noble.

"As much as I enjoy your company and a good drink I think you should retire for the evening, Lady Ambassador."

"I know quite well when I had enough to drink, Inquisitor, and I can still continue", she protested and moved to pour herself another glass only to knock over the bottle in the process, spilling its contents over the table.

"Or maybe you are right and I should go to sleep before I make a fool out of myself."

"Good night, Josephine", Adaar chuckled and watched the diplomat disappear into the hallway, enjoying the brief moment of tranquillity after an evening such as this one. She blew out the nearly burned down candles on the tables and left, enjoying the fresh night air upon stepping foot outside. Skyhold was quiet and shadows shrouded the fortress in darkness, safe for a few torches that lit up the main paths and the guards carrying their very own sources of light with them on their nightly patrols.

The warrior unbuttoned the collar of her formal attire, already looking forward to ridding herself of the somewhat restricting clothing. Her route brought her close to the tavern again and the lack of lights told her that it was too late even for the men and women of Skyhold to be up and drinking. She had already set foot on the stairs leading up to the great hall when a thought made her pause and she turned around, making her way back towards the tavern.

It was unusually quiet as she entered, but given the time it was probably only natural. Most of the candles had been extinguished and only a few lone torches supplied the interior with light and warmth. Adaar ascended the stairs leading to the first floor, trying not to make too much noise while doing so. Her tall frame cast even larger shadows on the planks as she made her way towards her lover's room, quietly opening the door and entering the small chamber.

Sera was sleeping on her usual spot on the windowsill, covered in pillows and blankets that she stored inside her cabinet during the day. Her usual attire had been replaced by more comfortable clothing better suited for sleeping. The Vashoth sat down next to the still sleeping form of the elf and smiled, gently brushing through her unevenly cut hair. A small gust of wind blew into the room through the seemingly always open window to her left and ruffled through the archer's blonde locks, knocking over an empty bottle that had been standing on the table in the motion.

"Whozat?", Sera mumbled upon waking up, mind still foggy with sleep as she rose from her makeshift bed, rubbing her eyes.

"Take a guess."

"That voice can only be my luv", she sleepily replied and started fumbling around in the dark, trying to locate her lover amidst the darkness. "Come here you, I'm cold and tired and you're like a pan full of hot coals on legs. Plus you woke me up so you owe me."

Adaar laughed quietly and closed the window, removing her vest, gloves and boots before sitting down on the windowsill again, pulling Sera onto her lap and wrapping her arms around her tightly.

"I would rather hold you for a bit if you don't mind."

"As long as you keep me from freezing my tits off I really don't care if it's hugs or sex providing the heat", the elf mumbled and yawned, grabbing one of the many blankets and wrapping it around herself and the Qunari.

"It was so boring without you around. Blackwall's aim is shit so he really sucks at throwing pies so I didn't have anything to do today. Guess you had a busy day though, huh? Got that big event coming up in Halamiral..."

"Halamshiral."

"Cheeeeeeesecake."

Silence engulfed the pair as they sat in the shadows, arms wrapped around each other and simply enjoying the presence of their loved one. The Inquisitor closed her eyes and rested her head against that of the elf, breathing in the sweet scent Sera usually carried due to her love of pies and tarts.

"I don't know if I'm ready to decide the fate of a nation, not with everything that's riding on who ends up ruling Orlais. How can a decision much like this one be made by a single person? Is it fate trying to remind us that we're its slaves, that we have to bow to its whims?"

Slow, steady breathing was the only response to her mumbled musings and the tall woman wondered how long Sera had already been asleep again. Probably too long to have heard anything she had just voiced out loud in a moment of weakness. Adaar laid down and pulled the elf down with her, careful not to wake her again, and closed her eyes as she allowed herself to finally rest, to stop thinking about tomorrow when right now, she was with her love. And that was all that mattered.

* * *

><p>Don't really have anything to say except that I hope this is to your liking. I think I have written too much here lately so the quality may have suffered because of it, even though I hope that is not the case. Anyways, seeing that I will be very busy soon I don't know when I will get a chance to write again.<p>

**Phrase of the Day**

_As I hold her tight she tries to fight it, as she rolls her eyes, a slow submission cause she knows I'm right_

"Can't say no" by Rea Garvey_  
><em>

**If you liked it, please** **REVIEW**.

No flaming please.


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